Yang Ziqiang immediately fell silent, feeling as if a wad of cotton was stuck in his throat, wanting to say something but unable to utter a single word.

Seeing his stunned expression, Yang Lu immediately came over and sat down next to him, taking his arm.

"I've already verified this matter. Mayor Yu is indeed my father. I wouldn't try to fool you with something like this, but please rest assured, you'll still be my best dad."

After she finished speaking, the room fell into a deathly silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Upon hearing the news, Aunt Wu nearly dropped what she was holding and went back to the kitchen.

Just as Yang Lu was pursing her lips, at a loss, Yang Ziqiang stroked her head and said in a slightly tearful voice:

"Oh dear, it's great that you've found your biological father! They told me you had no relatives left, which is why I took you away. I should have helped you find him sooner."

"But now that you've found your biological father, you won't disown me, will you?"

Yang Lu beamed with joy upon hearing this.

"Dad, it's good that you're okay with it. Don't worry, I'm still your daughter. You can come here as you always have. Please don't look down on me."

Yang Ziqiang poked her forehead and said, "As her father, I haven't brought you any glory. You're already being kind by still acknowledging me. How can you look down on me!"

Gao Baoliang spoke up promptly, "Dad, I'm just a small shareholder in the company. As for project bidding, that's handled by General Manager Luo and General Manager Jiang. I don't understand it. I just need to manage the decoration part."

Yang Ziqiang nodded, "It's good that you have this awareness. Running a business requires taking one step at a time. You can't be overly ambitious or try to get rich overnight. Only by laying a solid foundation can you cope with the ever-changing market."

Gao Baoliang stood with his hands hanging down in front of him, his attitude respectful. "Dad, I understand."

At this moment, Yang Xiu and Wu Jing arrived with gifts. Seeing their sister there, they couldn't help but tease each other, saying that the siblings were quite in sync.

Yang Lu stood up and took Wu Jing's hand.

"Sister-in-law, I have something to tell you."

After Yang Xiu and Wu Jing got married, they went on a week-long trip to another city, which served as their honeymoon.

Both of them had jobs and dared not stay outside for long.

Seeing the two acting so mysteriously, Yang Xiu leaned forward and asked,

"Is there anything I can't hear?"

Yang Lu shrugged. "Fine, I was originally going to let it go, but since you want to know, I'll tell you. I've found my biological father."

"What?" Yang Xiu was very surprised.

He still remembered that when they found her, it was pouring rain, she was covered in mud, and no one claimed her.

The government said all her relatives were dead.

However, after a brief moment of surprise, he immediately congratulated her.

He also told Yang Ziqiang to take it easy, that it was a good thing that there was another person to care for his sister.

Yang Ziqiang rolled his eyes at him, "Which eye of yours saw that I haven't seen things clearly?"

Yang Xiu pointed to his own eyes, then pointed to the other man's eyes.

"I have two eyes."

Yang Ziqiang pretended to be angry, "Now that you're all married, you don't even respect this old man anymore, and you've started making fun of your father."

Wu Jing obediently came over to help Yang Ziqiang, "Dad, let's eat. Aunt Wu has prepared the food."

During dinner, everyone chatted excitedly, and the house suddenly became lively.

However, once they finished eating and left, the house returned to its deserted state.

Seeing Yang Ziqiang alone reading in the study, Aunt Wu brought him a cup of ginseng tea.

After putting down the tea, she didn't leave immediately, but instead said:

"Brother Yang, I heard from the old man that you used to have a girlfriend, and it seems that she even had a child. Haven't you ever thought about going to find them?"

Aunt Wu was a nanny that Yang Ziqiang's mother hired for him. She helped take care of the two children. She was two years younger than Yang Ziqiang and would call him "brother" in private.

As Yang Ziqiang listened, the fingers gripping the book twitched slightly.

"Don't bring up this kind of thing again in the future. There's no point in talking about the past."

Aunt Wu felt a tightness in her chest, and immediately felt somewhat hurt.

Unexpectedly, after following him for so many years and serving him wholeheartedly, I still couldn't earn his trust.

He would never tell her anything, preferring to read in his study rather than say a word to her.

She felt she could never get into Yang Ziqiang's heart in this lifetime, so what was the point of her persisting for so many years?

During these long years, she returned to her hometown for two years to help Yang Ziqiang. After getting married and having children, she did not hesitate to divorce her husband in order to come back.

Other people's children have all grown up. One married well and became a wealthy woman, and the other has a successful career and started her own company. But her son can only find a job in a factory in the county town, earning a little over three hundred yuan a month. It was only with her help that he was able to buy a house and afford to get married.

However, she quickly adjusted her mood. Her salary at the job was steadily increasing, and now she could earn 500 yuan a month, which was more than her son's income. She had to grit her teeth and keep going.

Early in the morning, she took a basket to the market to buy vegetables.

Before long, the shopping basket was full.

Her current salary is paid by Yang Lu and Yang Xiu. Yang Ziqiang is very generous with the money he gives her for groceries, and she always buys whatever she wants to eat.

As she passed the butcher's stall, the man selling beef called out to her.

"Hey lady, I'd like some beef, the freshest kind, twelve yuan a pound."

Hearing this, Xue Mei, who was standing nearby, was instantly enraged.

"Uncle, you just gave me thirteen, how come other people are buying it for twelve?"

The middle-aged man gave her a sideways glance. "She's a regular customer who often patronizes my business, so naturally I give her a discounted price."

Before Xue Mei could argue, Aunt Wu spoke up in a good-natured manner.

"I'm not buying it today. You can give her the price, and I'll buy it tomorrow."

The older man listened, bowing and scraping as he saw her off.

"Alright, take care!"

Xue Mei was annoyed and didn't want to patronize his business anymore, but thinking that she could get a good deal, she bought a pound of it.

She hadn't eaten meat in a long time, so today was a luxury for her.

Since being fined 10,000 yuan last time, she has very little money left in her pocket, and she has been hitting walls everywhere she looks for a job, with no suitable opportunities.

She felt that the more society developed, the harder it was to make money!

When she first came to the capital, she was able to make a living selling clothes at a stall, earning tens of thousands of yuan a month.

The competition for street vending is too fierce now; you can only earn a few hundred yuan a month. It's too hard.

As she walked out of the market carrying meat, she was thinking about what she could do to make money quickly when she accidentally bumped into someone.

What a coincidence, it was Aunt Wu who had just spoken up for her.

Since the two of them had nothing else to do, they found a place to sit down and chat.

Aunt Wu was usually very lonely, and when she finally found someone she could talk to, she told her about her job as a nanny.

At first, she didn't say who her employer was.

As the two met more often, Xue Mei learned about Yang Ziqiang's family and their situation.

So, he was Yang Xiu's adoptive father!